Something to Talk About
by perfectlyrose
Summary: John and Rose have been best friends since they were kids. There may be something growing between them that is something more than mere friendship though. (Ten/Rose high school/college AU)
1. People Are Talking

So I may have told one of y'all that Watch it Burn was my only current multi-chapter project. And that was a lie. The current plan is for this to be about 4-5 chapters.

But anyways, this chapter is an introduction into the fic and is shamelessly fluffy and almost without plot. Plot will appear in some form next chapter :) Good news is- I can't procrastinate much on this one as it is a secret santa gift for a friend on tumblr and I should probably at least get it halfway done before Christmas! Anyways, hope you enjoy. As always, this is unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine

* * *

><p>Rose had just collapsed on her bed when the Imperial March started blaring from her backpack across the room. She groaned and rolled off the bed to grab the backpack she'd dropped just inside the door of her room. She fished her mobile out of the bag and punched the button to answer before flopping back down on top of her pink duvet.<p>

"Why are you calling?"

"That was rude, Rose Tyler. I thought I was supposed to be the rude one in this friendship." Her best friend's voice rolled down the line and she could just imagine the affronted look on his face. He took great pride in being the rude one sometimes.

"I'd just walked in the flat and was about to pass out when that bloody Star Trek music you changed your ringtone to made me get up again so I think I have reason to be rude this time."

"It's from Star Wars, Rose, and I know you're just trying to get a rise out of me by getting it wrong." He sniffed. "Besides we've watched Star Wars _and _Star Trek enough times for you to know the difference."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Fine. You still haven't said why you're calling, John. I was up all night finishing that paper for lit class and all I want to do is sleep."

"Well it seems that _someone_ forgot that we made plans to meet in the park after school today so that we could go get chips." Rose groaned as he continued, "So now I'm just sitting here by myself. Might have to go make friends with the squirrels. They probably like chips as much as you do."

"I can't believe I forgot, been looking forward to this all week. 'S just I'm so knackered that I barely remembered how to get home. Can we reschedule?"

"Go make yourself a cuppa and I'll be there in a jiffy." He paused, "Remind me not to use that word again. I'll be at yours in twenty minutes, don't fall asleep on me."

He rang off before Rose could protest.

She traded her jeans for a pair of yoga pants before heeding John's instructions and putting the kettle on. A few minutes later she was settled on the couch with a mug warming her palms, just waiting for John to knock.

Rose had been best friends with John Smith since he had appeared in her Year 3 class and proceeded to cause all sorts of chaos. The teacher had been at a loss and had assigned Rose as his buddy in the hopes that she'd be a calming influence.

That hadn't worked out as planned.

Rose became his partner in crime instead and they'd been in and out of trouble ever since.

She'd seen him become a gangly preteen, all arms and legs and floppy hair, had watched him grow into those limbs and start fussing over his hair more than she did, making sure it had the right amount of "sticky-uppy-ness" before going out in public. They'd faced crushes, disappointments, homework and anything else life tried to throw at them together. Now they were sixteen and people often assumed they were _together_, as in couple together, but they had never ventured towards that territory.

So what if they were constantly hanging out with each other and hugged a lot, Rose thought as she took a sip of her tea. She liked being around John, was comfortable around him. He was her best friend, for heaven's sake! That didn't mean she wanted to date him. Sure, she sometimes felt a swooping in her stomach that felt suspiciously like butterflies when he would grab her hand for some reason or another. And she might think that her best friend was really rather attractive (she'd never tell him but he had really great hair) but that was just an objective observation.

Rose was positive that she would know if she had a crush on John. There was no crushing going on, no matter what people tried to claim. Purely platonic, the two of them.

She giggled against the rim of her mug. Her thoughts were always scattered when she had not gotten enough sleep but this was one hell of a rabbit hole that her brain had led her down this time.

Rhythmic knocking interrupted her musings and Rose dragged herself off the couch to go let John in. He could never knock normally, it was always a song or "Shave and a Haircut" or something similar.

A yawn overtook her as she opened the door.

"That's the second rude greeting I've gotten from you today. And to think I was being a good best mate and bringing chips to you after your long day." He shouldered past her and into the flat, the smell of fried potatoes hit her nose.

"I think I might love you," she said as she followed, trying to grab her portion.

John held the chips over her head. "Only because I'm the only one who would bring you chips after you stood me up."

"I'll take it back if you don't give me those bloody chips. I'm exhausted and hungry and would probably kill you for them," Rose said after one fruitless jump to try and get the food.

"No murders allowed. Sit down and I'll give them to you."

Rose huffed and sat back down on the couch where she'd been waiting for him before looking up at him expectantly.

He was grinning. "You're so obedient when you're sleep deprived!"

"Oi!"

John just continued, "I mean I've seen you before you've had a cuppa in the morning and you're just incapable of functioning then. And grumpy. But this is different."

"I'm gonna smack you if you don't stop jabbering and give me those chips right now, John."

Still grinning, he handed her the packet of chips with a flourish and then plopped down on the couch next to her.

"So what was this paper you were working on all night?"

"The stupid one about _Frankenstein_. Brilliant book, hated the essay topic," she said around a mouthful of food.

"You always hate the essay topics."

"There's so much I could say about these books and the topics never let me touch on what I want to say!"

"You could always ask for a different topic."

Rose sighed, rolling her eyes. "Too much trouble, John. Besides, you're probably the only one who could get away with that." She bumped him with her shoulder. "You're the genius that the teachers love, not me."

He just smiled down at her softly and went back to eating, not bothering to answer her.

They continued eating, only breaking the silence with an occasional comment. It was the kind of quiet that reaffirmed the strength of their friendship.

Rose finished her chips first and leaned forward to put the trash on the table in front of them. She settled back onto the couch, leaning her head on John's shoulder.

"Comfy?" He asked once he'd swallowed his bite of food.

"Sleepy," she responded, scooting closer to him. She threw her arm over his waist and moved her head into the little hollow between neck and shoulder.

John froze, breath stuck in his throat as Rose was suddenly closer than she normally was. His heart stopped for a beat and then went into overdrive. He desperately hoped that she was too sleepy to notice the pounding beneath her ear.

He stared down at her, unsure of what to do with his hands. One was still full of food and the other was awkwardly trapped between himself and Rose. Carefully, he extricated his hand from between them and placed it around her shoulders. He waited for her to shrug it off but she just cuddled closer, sighing contentedly.

"Just think of what everyone at school would say now," he teased quietly.

Everyone always assumed the two of them were a couple despite their denials. John had pretty much stopped correcting people; it had never bothered him that people thought they were together. Rose reacted to the whispered rumors more though, always taking the time to set things straight. Just best mates, the two of them, always just best mates.

"They can all sod off," came her muffled reply.

A chuckle escaped his mouth and Rose grumbled at him that if he was going to be her pillow, he had to stop moving.

By the time John decided that he could chance movement without being told off, she was sound asleep.

John quietly finished his food, content with just watching the top of Rose's head. He was trying to convince himself that it would be best to wake her up, tell her to go to bed and see himself out of the flat. It certainly would be what a best mate would do.

And he was Rose's best friend, but for the last year, he had started suspecting that she was something more than that too, at least on his end. He had no idea what went on in that head of hers. All he knew was that he was forever distracted by the way she'd smile at him and stick her tongue in the corner of her mouth, by the way she'd run her thumb over his when he grabbed her hand. He'd always thought she was gorgeous (well as soon as he started noticing girls that is) but lately he'd found himself comparing every single girl he saw to Rose and they all came up lacking.

Telling Rose any of this was terrifying though. There was a very, very good chance that she only felt platonically towards him and he refused to make things weird between them just because he had a teensy tiny crush on her.

(okay okay, it was a huge, ginormous crush but if he continued lying to himself, it would help him lie to everyone else about it)

So he was just going to keep being her best friend and doing his best to hide any sign that he wanted something more with her. The gossips at school could probably already tell that he was head over heels for Rose but no one really paid them any heed. It was good fodder for the hallways and lunch room but the rumors weren't ever taken seriously, especially where he and Rose were concerned. Their supposed relationship was old news and no one cared too much anymore.

John tightened the arm around her shoulders and rested his head on top of hers, inhaling the smell of the flowery shampoo Rose used. Maybe he could take a kip too and find out what it was like to wake up with Rose Tyler in his arms. Hopefully she wouldn't be upset with him taking such a liberty.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Jackie was on her mobile when she walked into the flat, as she registered that it was strangely quiet she cut off her friend. "Gotta go Bev, I'll ring you later." Ignoring Bev's protest, Jackie snapped the phone shut and headed further into the flat.

Normally on Fridays, Rose and John were making some kind of ruckus in the flat, talking over the telly or arguing over a new set of rules they'd made up for an old board game. Coming home to a quiet flat was disconcerting.

As she stepped into the sitting room, her eyes zeroed in on the pair curled together on the couch. They were both sound asleep, leaning on each other. She took in the arm John had around her daughter and the one Rose had flung across his waist and smiled softly. Maybe the two of them were finally coming to their senses, they'd been dancing around each other for a couple of years now.

She knew John was terrified of her but that was good if he was interested in dating Rose. If he ever hurt her, he'd come to know that his terror was justified. Jackie grabbed a blanket and arranged it over their laps before heading into her room. Rose could do much worse than John Smith, in her opinion, so she was not going to get in the way of this possible new development.


	2. Maybe They're Seeing Something We Don't

One side order of mutual pining and a dash of Donna coming right up.

I'm still planning like...two to three more chapters of this so even though this _seems_ kind of like an ending (especially for where I normally cut off one shots) I have more to say and these two have more story to tell :) Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

><p>Waking up with Rose Tyler still asleep on his chest was probably the highlight of John's year. Possibly of his life. After a few moments of reveling in the experience and trying to memorize the feeling, he gently woke her up, telling her that she should probably finish her nap in an actual bed since his aunt would be expecting him back home. She'd protested sleepily but eventually levered herself off of him and stumbled towards her room after mumbling goodbye and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek (which was the cherry on top of the whole experience). John had let himself out quietly, unsure if Jackie was home and not really wanting to alert her to his presence or state of consciousness if she was, and started home.<p>

That had been two weeks ago.

For a moment that evening, it felt like the nature of their relationship was on the verge of changing, like they were on a precipice, reaching for the stars that seemed so close. It had apparently just been a collaborative fiction between his imagination and boundless hope though because they had slipped straight back into their normal friendship.

The only problem was that it seemed so much more difficult to act like just her friend when he wanted to pull her close and hold her and surround himself with the scent of her shampoo again. The rumors were ramping up again so he knew he was not doing a very good job of hiding his longing.

He had to get himself together. Rose was his best friend and he was completely fine if that's all they ever were. If she ever expressed an interest in being something more, he would jump on the opportunity quicker than anything but for now he needed to stop hoping and just focus on being her best mate.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Rose slammed her locker shut. She was getting extremely tired of the rumors. Everyone was whispering about her and John being an item. Again.

Normally she just brushed it all off, laughing and telling people that they were just friends, obviously. People were apparently just incapable of telling the difference between a close friendship and a romantic relationship. This time though, there was a niggling feeling in the back of her mind every time she corrected someone that told her that _maybe they weren't completely wrong_.

She started loading her books into her backpack and tried to reason everything out. Ever since the afternoon when she had fallen asleep on John she'd been more aware of him. Rose could not forget the sensation of waking up surrounded by John or the soothing sound of his heartbeat under her ear. It had been impulse to press a quick kiss to his cheek before he left and she couldn't forget the way he blushed or how that brief contact had felt.

Rose had been positive that she would know if she had a crush on her, admittedly attractive, best friend but now she wasn't so sure of her feelings.

She'd been watching him more, enjoying the swooping feeling in her stomach when he'd hugged her instead of ignoring it. Rose began to notice that they stood closer to each other than most people did, that they gravitated around each other when they were in the same room.

She was almost positive that her increased _noticing_ of John had caused the rumors to start again in full force. It certainly couldn't have been anything John was doing. He was acting completely, annoyingly, normal, just like the best mate he'd always been. What if she was feeling this all on her own? What if he didn't see her as anything more than a friend? After all, she'd just come to terms that she might be feeling more than platonically towards him. Maybe he…

"Oi, you're as bad as Spaceman!"

Rose jumped at the sudden voice. She had been completely lost in her thoughts. "Sorry, Donna. Was just thinking." She shot a smile at the fiery redhead. Donna Noble was a year ahead of them and friend to both her and John. She was also a force to be reckoned with. "And I can't possibly be as bad as John, his heads always in the clouds."

"Not when he's around you," Donna said slyly. She'd been trying to subtly push her two friends together for ages and it finally looked like they might be doing something about all that attraction.

Rose slammed her locker shut and leaned her head against it. "Not you too. Everyone's on about how John an' me are a couple or that we should be and I'm so tired of correcting everyone."

"I can see why people might think you two are a couple though." Rose shot her an inquisitive look and knowing that her audience was hooked, Donna continued. "You're the only person he listens to, Rose. Plus, the way he lights up around you is enough to always keep the rumor mill churning away."

The two of them started walking away from Rose's locker and towards the exit.

"What do you mean? He's always smiling and chattering. Being around me doesn't change that."

"You don't see him when he's away from you, though. I mean, yeah, he still grins like he's a mad scientist, but it's just not the same somehow."

"What about me? Do I act differently?"

Donna smirked, "You sound like you already know the answer to that, Blondie."

"Shut it," Rose shot back half-heartedly. "I just…I don't know lately."

"Don't know what?"

Rose looked around before pulling Donna into one of the side corridors.

"You have to promise not to breathe a word of this to anyone, especially not John," she said seriously.

"Cross my heart," Donna replied, making the appropriate hand gestures to match her statement.

"I think I have a crush on John and I have no idea what to do. He's my best mate and I don't want to ruin that but…" she looked up at Donna as she trailed off, hoping the older girl understood.

Donna reached out and lightly punched Rose's shoulder. "Tell him, dumbo."

"But what if he doesn't feel the same and I ruin everything! I can't lose my best friend, Donna."

"Rose, that boy looks at you like the sun shines out of your pores and follows you around like a lost puppy sometimes. I think he would be fine with you making a move." Donna's tone brooked no argument and Rose felt a tiny flare of hope take hold in her heart.

"Are you sure?"

"Did you think all those rumors came out of nowhere? Everyone could see that it was just a matter of time before one of you came to your senses and realized what we all could see. Because it's not just him, Rose. You watch him all the time and you do that smile with your tongue that looks ridiculous when anyone else does it about three times as often when John's around."

"Really?"

"Really," Donna said gently. "We've all been waiting for the two of you to get together for years."

"But how do I tell him?" Rose thought about it for a moment and cringed. "Oh my god, this is going to be incredibly awkward isn't it?"

"Possibly. But I happen to know that the school's having a dance in a couple of weeks to celebrate the end of school or some shit like that. You could always ask him to that."

"I think I will," Rose said, her normal bravado back in place.

Donna laughed and the two started walking back towards the front doors of the school once more.

"God, can you imagine John at a dance, though. It's going to be a disaster!"

The redhead snorted. "Yeah, I'll make sure and alert the yearbook staff in advance so we can make sure it's all documented."

"He's going to kill you for that."

"You'll protect me since I'm get all the credit for you two getting together. Plus," she smiled evilly, "he'd have to prove it was me."

Both of them were laughing when they exited the school and ran straight into John.

He looked between them with an expression of dawning horror as they continued to laugh after catching sight of him.

"No, no. I feel like you two are laughing at me and I don't know why."

"That's because we are, Spaceman." Donna said, reining in her amusement.

"I'm afraid to ask what I did to cause all this…" he waved his hand vaguely at Rose who was still giggling.

The blonde took a deep breath and latched onto his arm before looking up at him. "Wouldn't tell you even if you did ask."

"That, that's not fair," he stuttered out.

Donna smirked. She could practically see John's higher brain function short out as Rose pressed against his arm. That girl was going to be dangerous now that she was aware of her own feelings and had an inkling of John's.

Rose unwound herself from John's arm but before he could think to protest, she twined their fingers together in a casual manner, apparently unaware of how intimate it felt. _Just friends_ he reminded himself. It was becoming a mantra in his mind. _Just friends, just friends, just friends._

"I was thinking we could go get chips. Promise I won't fall asleep on you this time," she smiled up at him, tongue peeking out from between her teeth.

"You actually fell asleep on him?" Donna asked, unsure why she was surprised by anything these two did anymore.

Rose blushed and John grinned before answering. "She so did. After I was nice enough to bring her chips when she forgot that she was meeting me to get some. Finished eating and then proceeded to use me as a pillow."

"I don't think you minded since you fell asleep for a while too, mister."

Donna had to resist from rolling her eyes at the two of them. A right pair of idiots she had befriended, completely incapable of seeing what was right in front of them until it was pointed out.

"Anyways, I want chips," Rose continued. "Donna, do you want to come?"

"No thanks, I've got a date with Lance tonight to get ready for." Technically not a lie but she didn't need that much time. No way she was going to intrude on their time together though, not now that Rose was working her way up to making her move finally.

"Have fun! Let me know how it goes!"

Rose swung her and John's intertwined hands, "Chips, then?"

"Oh yes. And you're paying this time."

"What kind of date are you, making me pay for the chips?" she teased.

John's heart stuttered at the word "date" but he managed to get out a reply about how he paid last time.

"Behave, you two. Don't get into too much trouble," Donna shouted as they started walking away.

Rose looked over her shoulder to wink at her.

"Ask him," Donna mouthed.

"Later," Rose mouthed back before turning back around and bumping her shoulder against John's.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

John was on cloud nine. He was also slightly confused but that was secondary to the euphoria. Ever since Rose and Donna had come out of the school laughing at him, Rose had been, dare he say it, flirtatious towards him. He had no idea what had prompted this and if it was a joke, he was going to kill Donna.

It had been a week and there had been lots of hand holding and hugs and a few pecks on the cheek before Rose darted off somewhere but no explanation for the change in her behavior.

Maybe he hadn't been imagining things when he felt something changing when she fell asleep on him.

John tried to ask Donna but she just rolled her eyes and told him to talk to Rose before walking off muttering something about idiots who couldn't see anything.

He met Rose at her locker after school. He was trying to figure out a good way to ask her about the change without making it seem like he was opposed to it (which he definitely was not) when she looked up at him, nerves written all over her face.

"So…there's a dance coming up next week," she said, not quite meeting his eyes.

"Is there?" John rubbed at the back of his neck, trying to ignore the fact that he'd practically just squeaked.

"I was thinking, maybe, we could go…together?" Rose finally met his eyes and he could see that she was scared. "Like as a date?"

But why was she scared? It was just him.

And then what she'd said hit him. She wanted them to go to the dance together. _Together_ together. His mouth opened and closed a few times, words escaping him for once.

He apparently waited too long to answer because pain flashed in Rose's eyes and she turned to slowly load her backpack. "I mean, it was just an idea. Obviously you don't want to so just forget about it."

She couldn't believe she'd been so stupid. She had gotten it so wrong. Donna had gotten it wrong. He wasn't interested and she'd just mucked absolutely everything up and God, she was such an idiot.

"No, Rose, I'm very interested!" John paused and made a face. "Oh, that came out wrong. What I'm trying to say is that I'd love to go to the dance with you. As a…couple?" The last part came out as a question, a hopeful query.

"Really?" Rose asked, hope rekindling in her eyes.

"Yeah."

"I'd like that a lot."

"Well you are the one who asked, so I'd assume so!" John teased.

"Oi, rude!" Rose said, whacking him in the shoulder.

She couldn't contain her grin. They were going to be okay.

No, they were going to be more than okay. They were going to be brilliant.

John reached down and intertwined their fingers. "So does this mean all the rumors were right all along, Rose Tyler?"

She shivered at the sound of her name dropping from his lips like that, all full of intent. "Well maybe not _all_ along but they were definitely onto something."

"So we're a couple now."

"Seems like," she said, squeezing his hand and leaning back against her closed locker, "How do feel about that?"

"Oh fantastic, brilliant even! I don't know if you've noticed but I've had a crush on you for _ages_."

"I didn't notice until I actually started listening to the rumors about three weeks ago," she said. "Helpful things, rumors."

"How long do you think it will take them to realize that we're actually a couple now?"

"You're liking that word, couple, aren't you?"

John made a happy noise in the back of his throat. "Only when applied to the two of us together."

"Oh my god, you're so sappy," she teased, laughing.

"Lots of lost time to make up for," he protested. "So did you just now realize that your best mate was dashing or…"

"You're full of it, too" Rose said, pushing his shoulder with her free hand. "But I always thought you were attractive, it's just been in the past few weeks that I finally let myself put a name to what I've been feeling. And once I realized you might feel the same way…" she shrugged, "Well I had to at least try. Was so scared I was going to mess up our friendship though and I can't let that happen. Can't lose you."

"Now who's being sappy?" he teased softly.

"Oi, shut it. You must have felt the same way since you haven't ever done anything about your crush before now."

"I really want to kiss you right now," he blurted out instead of confirming her thought.

"Then why don't you?"

"Because we're in the hallway still?"

"It's after school. There's not many people around and they all think we're together anyways."

"But this would prove them right."

"So? Let's give them something to really talk about," Rose smiled that tongue-in-teeth smile that drove him crazy and he was helpless to resist.

He leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers gently. Their lips moved in tandem, skin gliding against skin and sending skitters of pleasure down both of their spines.

John pulled back, separating their lips but leaning his forehead against hers.

"That was…" he stopped, searching for the right word.

"Perfect," she said. "Why did we wait so long to do this?"

"I have no idea," he replied, leaning down to capture her lips again.

"Miss Tyler and Mr. Smith! Please refrain from public displays of affection in the hallways!"

The shrill voice of their history teacher interrupted them and they jumped apart. It was after school hours but they could still technically get in trouble.

John squeezed the hand still entwined with his. "Run," he whispered.

Laughing, the two of them took off towards the exit, breathless with the excitement of days to come.


End file.
